Receptacle-closure.



No. 857,698. PATENTED JUNE 25, 190" A. L. WEISSENTHANNER.

REGEPTAGLE CLOSURE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15, 1905.

WITNESSES:

. Y INVENTOR ALFRED L. WEISSENTHANNER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

RECEPTACLE CLOSURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 25, 190 7.

Application filed November 15,1905. Serial No. 287,461.

To all whom, it may concern.-v

Be it known that I, ALFRED L. WEISSEN- THANNER, a citizen of theRepublic of France, and a resident bf New York city, State of New York,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inReceptacle-Closures, of which the following is a specification.

In that type of sealing cap comprising a pendent flange adapted to bebent into locklng engagement with the shoulder on the head of a bottleor jar some kind of packing or cushioning medium has been universallyemployed. This medium in the form of a flat disk of elastic material islaced within .the cap and by pressure applied to the top of the cap,while the bottle is firmly supported, is compressed and made to conformto the lip of the bottle or jar. The flange of the cap isthen bent, bymeans of a suitable machine, into locking engagement with the shoulderon the bottle or jar for the purpose of holding the disk undercompression to maintain an effective seal. Cork by reason of itslightness and elasticity is peculiarly adapted to'this purpose andhasbeen extensively used. The cork-wood from which the disks are cut is notof uniform structure throughout its mass even with the highest grades,in consequence of which many disks after being out are found to beworthless and incapable of use by reason of the presence of numerouscells which would prevent effective sealing. These im erfect disks mustnecessarily be' discarded: entailing thereby in the aggregate anenormous loss to the bottler or the manufacturer of the sealing caps.Notwithstandin this condition however the use of cork for iis purposestill persists, although many substitutes have been suggested therefor,notably rubber or compositions thereof.

It is one of the essential objects of the present invention to devise aclosure wherey cork'of any uality, provided it possesses the necessary-easticity, and of any condition of cellular structure may be employed.

My invention in its broadest aspect consists of a sealing disk ofelastic material capable of being compressed to the requisite degree tomake an eflective seal, and a facing of flexible and preferablyinelastic material which has the capability of being bent to conform tothe rim of the bottle or jar and of such nature as to be in itselfsubstantially impervious to fluids or made so by a suitable coating. Asthe elastic medium I prefer cork on account of its cheapness andadaptability to the intended purpose and its effectiveness in making atight seal. .As the facing medium I have used what is known as fiber, awell known insulating material, and also pasteboard. i

The invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying whichI Figure 1 is a central vertical section of a cap having the sealingdisk in position before being applied to'the bottle or jar; Fig. 2 is aviewpartly in section of the neck of a bottle showing the cap after thesealing eration; Fig. 3 is a perspectivevviewo the facing or liningdisk; and Fig. 4 is a plan view'of a defective cork disk for the purposeof illustrating its cellular structure.

Similar reference numeralsindicate similar parts in the several views.

Referring to the drawings the numeral 1 designates the neck of a bottlewhich has formed thereon a shoulder 2 at or "near the head, the term-bottle being-here used in its broadest significance to designate areceptacle designedto contain liquids, preserves, meats, etc.; 3designates a cap of sheet metal which may be of any of the usual formsknown to the trade. As here shown it comprises a flat crown or topportion ashaving an integral dependin circumferential flange 1?, 0c

the latter being a apted to be bent into ing engagement with theshoulder2. It is to be understood that I have selected this type of capsimply for the purpose of illustration, the invention being adapted tocaps having either plain, corrugated or spit flanges, and to caps havinthe flange separate from the crown, all 0 which types are well known.

The sealing disk, which constitutes the es sential feature of minvention, comprises a disk 6 of any suitable elasticmateriaL-preferably cork, 'of a diameter substantiall equal tothediameter of a section throug the fl'angefi so that it will,restsnugly Within the cap. In practicesuch disks for use in connectionwithcaps for bottles containing beer or carbonated beverages are cutaboutone inch in diameter and about one-tenth of awing in' for that purpose;

an inch in thickness, the diameter and thickness varying in accordancewith the particular size of the bottle or jar with which the cap is tobe used. Against the elastic disk 6 is placed a disk 7 of flexible andreferably inelastic, material having the capability of being bent at thetime of compression of the disk 6 to conform to the rim of the bottle.As an example of a material suitable for the purpose I have used fiber,Which as above stated is a.

well known insulating material, "and which in itself is substantiallyimpervious to fluids, of a dense texture, very tough and innocuous,characteristics which adapt it to the present purpose. The disks 7 arecut from sheets the same diameter as the cork disk 6 and aboutone-fiftieth of an inch in thickness, although they may be of greaterthickness if desired. I have also used pasteboard but when that or asimilar material is used it must be treated to render it practicallytasteless and odorless to prevent any contamination of the contents ofthe bottle or jar. .For that purpose I coat one face of the pasteboarddisk with any suitable innocuous substance, linseed oil having inpractice been found suitable The pasteboard disk may be prepared in anysuitable manner for this coating, the oil when hardened presenting apractically smooth continuous surface 8 closing the pores of thepasteboard and ren dering it impervious to water, gases or other fluidswhich-may be in the containing bottle or ar.

he fiber disks' may be used in their natural state, that is as foundupon themarket and without any special preparation, as by reason of itsvery dense texture it is for all practical purposes as a sealin mediumimpervious to water or other fluids. Said disks, however, may have acoatingof linseed oil the same as pasteboard disks if deemed necessaryor desirable.

When a bottle is to be sealed the-elastic section or disk 6 is placedwithin the cap and the inelastic section or disk 7 superposed thereon asindicated in Fig. 1. By means of any well known machine vertical ressureis applied to the top of the cap by w 'ch the disk 6, which is normallyflat, is compressed about its edge and made to conform to the lip of thebottle. The disk 7 being inelastic and incompressible, but flexible,w1ll be bent into like conformity with the rim of the bottle While thispressure is being maintained a flange bending tool is brought intooperation to bend the flange 5 of the ca 3 into locking enga ement withthe shoul er 2, as indicated in ig. 2. After the completion of thesealing o eration the sealing disk will be maintaine under compressionand capable of resistin anyinternal pressure.

In Fig. 4' have shown on a slightly enlarg'ed scale the cellularstructure of a cork disk selected from among those out for commercialuse. This disk, it will be noted, is pitted with-cells 9 which extendthrough from face to face particularly over the surface that iscompressed in the sealing operation. Such disk is absolutely valuelesswhen used alone as a sealing medium, and is typical of disks by whicheffective sealing cannot be effected and which must therefore berejected, the aggregate loss therefrom representing a very large moneyvalue, not only for material but labor in preparing and cutting. Thedisk 7 while it may be advantageously employed with perfect cork disksis more particularly intended for use by me with corks, which by reasonof imperfections above noted, have heretofore been discarded, or inother words with cork disks which are incapable of being used alone..The disk 7 may if desired be cemented to the face of the cork disk butthat'is not necessary for its successful use. When laid upon the face ofan imperfectdisk, such as illustrated in Fig. 4, the cells 9 are closed,in-as-much as the impervious disk 7 prevents the escape of gases orliquids contained in the bottlellor jar and the seal will be maintainedin as reliable and eflective condition as with a perfectpork disk.

One of the essential advantages of fiber and pasteboard as materials forthe disks 7 is that they possess the necessary density and rigidity towithstand any internal pressure which would tend to break or bend themat the points where they cover the cells 9 of an imperfect cork disk 6.The utility of the present sealing disk has been fully demonstrated inpractice, enabling the practical utilization of cork disks of thecharacter illustrated in Fig. 4which, as above stated, have heretoforebeen rejected.

My invention in its broader aspect is not limited to the precise formsof construction and disposition of the parts shown herein as changes instructure and disposition other than those herein suggested may be madewithout departing from the main purpose of my invention or withoutsacrificing its chief advanta es.

What claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A sealing diskfor thepurpose described comprising a section of an elastic material,and a superposed section of a stiff, flexible, inelastic, nonmetallicmaterial, made impervious to'fluids.

, 2. A sealing disk for the purpose described comprising a section of anelastic material and a superposed section of a flexible but inelasticmaterial, the latter having a coating of dried linseed oil.

3. A sealing disk for the purpose described comprising a section of anelastic material amass a and a superposed section of pasteboard, the myname in the presence of two subscribing latter having a coating of driedlinseed oil. witnesses. comprising a section of cork, and a superiALFRED WEISsENTH-ANNER' 5 posed section of pasteboard, the latter havingWitnesses:

CHARLES S. JONES,

a coating of dried linseed oil.

E. ROBINSON.

4. A sealing disk for the purpose described l In witness whereof I havehereunto signed i

